Natsu: Making of a Champion
by FT0315
Summary: changes in the timeline result in new stories and new adventures for Natsu and the Fairy Tail guild. Set before canon.
1. The Grandfather

On the continent of Ishgar, deep within a vast and mountainous forest there was almost no signs of human life. Many miles from any human settlement the deeper parts of the forest were home to vicious beasts and monsters; and yet in one particular region there was very little life, most wildlife scared away by a single inhabitant. The quiet made the area very serene, if not a little unnerving.

"NNNAAAATTTTSSSUUU!!!!" The peace and quiet of the region was broken by what could only be described as a monstrous and rage filled roar that shook the very earth. The roar came from a single mountain located at the center of the wildlife absent region. At the base of the mountain was a massive cavern that housed a large red dragon.

This dragon was Igneel, The King of Fire Dragons. Standing taller than the tallest tree, with wings that stretched almost as long as his entire body, massive bone crushing teeth longer than a human arm, claws capable of crushing the largest of boulders, and large scars covering various portions of his body, Igneel portrayed the image of a fierce and powerful beast that could destroy an entire city if he so desired. "Look at what you did to me you damn brat!!" Or at least he used to.

"What do mean Igneel? You look you waaay better now!" Igneel' rage filled face was met by the innocent smile of a young boy, no older than five. The boy, average in size for his age, had bright pink hair, onyx eyes, and a smile that was so large that it practically split his face in two. This was Natsu, a child that Igneel had taken in several months ago.

His innocent response to Igneel' question only seemed to infuriate the dragon even more. "Look at what you did Natsu! I look ridiculous now!" Igneel empathized his point by pointing to his body, which was covered in crude paint drawings. ' _This is the last time I bring him paint from a human village_.' He thought quite irritated.

"Aw, come on Igneel you look way better. Now you can even blend into the cave wall, just like a ninja!" Natsu further empathized his point by making a ninja hand sign and going _nin-nin_.

Igneel could only sweat drop at his son's recent fascination with ninjas. Realizing something that Natsu had implied, Igneel poked his head into the massive cavern. The mere sight caused his jaw to drop in astonishment; paint and crude pictures covered the walls, most just appearing as squiggles and lines that only made sense to a five year old. Even the ceiling of the cave was covered in paint. ' _How did he even get up there_?' The red dragon pondered.

"Pretty cool, huh Igneel!" Natsu's high pitched voice broke through Igneel's thoughts, causing him to look towards the small child.

He sighed as he looked at his adopted son, ' _Raising children is a lot harder than I thought._ ' He exasperatedly thought; all the while Natsu's smile never wavered.

 **Later that night**

After cleaning up his own body and the walls of the caves, as well as explaining to Natsu why the whole world wasn't his canvas, the two had done some light training for Natsu and his Fire Dragon Slayer magic. Now they were lazing around the fire that Igneel had started in the clearing about a mile from the cave, getting ready to sleep off the humongous dinner that they shared.

Suddenly however Igneel's snout twitched as he picked up a familiar scent, but it was one that he hadn't smelt in over two hundred years, and he didn't part with the scents owner on the best of terms. Narrowing his eyes in the direction that he picked up the scent, he rose to he feet, causing Natsu (who was dozing on the dragon's nose) to fall to the ground. "Hey what was that for?!" The small child shouted in rage at his nap being interrupted.

"Natsu" Igneel's tone, more serious than Natsu had ever heard before, caused the boy to stop his tantrum and look towards the dragon. "Go back towards the cave right now, and don't come out until I tell you to, no matter what." Igneel ordered as the individual that he smelt came into view to his draconic eyes.

"But Igneel-"

"Now Natsu, I mean it!" The King of Fire Dragons bellowed. Causing the pink haired boy to start running for the cave that they called home.

Igneel kept his ears tuned into Natsu's footsteps, making sure that his son actually went to the cave like he said. All the while his eyes, black slitted pupils and yellow sclera, never wavering from the approaching being.

After several minutes the being, another dragon, landed in front of Igneel. The visitor's red scales were duller than Igneel's and possessed fewer scars; the membrane of their massive wings tattered and full of holes toward the end; the horn on the end their snout broken in half, leaving an elevated flat top at the tip of the snout. The new dragon looked similar to Igneel in many ways, but aside from those minor differences, the biggest was that this dragon just looked old and decrepit; clearly having lived for many centuries.

"Igneel, its good to see you." The old dragon spoke, breaking the awkward silence that had encompassed the two since he landed.

"It has been awhile, hasn't it, Father."

Natsu, having reached the entrance of the cave, peered out towards the clearing that he had left his father in. Confusion crossed his features as another dragon touched down in the clearing.

The dragon, from what he see, looked similar to Igneel, but appeared older than his adoptive father. Curiosity immediately filled his young mind as Natsu had never seen another dragon other than Igneel; in fact he had never met anyone other than Igneel. His father's reaction to the unexpected visitor also surprised him; never before had he seen Igneel react in such a manner. Igneel had shouted at him often, but never like that, and he had to admit that it did worry him a bit.

Filled with questions about what was happening Natsu just observed the two dragons, his vantage point giving him a small view of the two. He wondered what they could possibly be discussing and if they would fight each other. That last thought bringing an excited smile to his face as the image of two massive dragons throwing down caused his blood to start pumping from excitement. There was no doubt in his mind that if the two dragons did engage each other that Igneel would emerge victorious, but he still thought that it would be an amazing battle.

The elderly dragon didn't seem surprised by Igneel's relatively cold greeting. He just 'hmmmed' in response; thinking over how long it had truly been. "200 years, I believe." He stated after thinking it over.

In response to his father's attempt at small talk Igneel was rather blunt and curt, especially compared to his normal boisterous and talkative attitude. "Just about. Now what do you want?"

At first the old dragon kept silent, pondering what to say in order to ease the tension. "That boy that your trying to hide from me, is he a dragon slayer?"

His question however did not ease the tension as Igneel immediately stomped his front left foot hard enough to shake the earth; his wings flaring outwards as he roared in rage at his father "STAY AWAY FROM MY SON!!"

The outburst had the desired affect as his father backed away slightly, clearly startled by his son's sudden rage. He bowed his head to Igneel and apologized, trying to demonstrate that he didn't mean the question to come off in the way that it did. "I'm sorry my son, I didn't mean for-"

"For what?!"

"For the question to come out like that! Look I didn't here to fight Igneel!"

"Then why did you come here?!"

"I came because...!" The ancient dragon's reply had begun strong and agitated, but he found that he couldn't finish the sentence. He became quiet; a forlorn look crossing his face as he remembered his true purpose for this reunion with his son. Igneel however either didn't notice how uncomfortable his father became or he just didn't care, as he continued his questioning.

"Because WHAT?!"

"BECAUSE THE PARLIAMENT IS DEAD!!" The ancient dragon's shout stopped any retort that may have come from Igneel. He could only stare in shock at his father, never in his life imagining that this could happen.

"What?" Igneel's muttered question was so soft that even with a dragon's enhanced hearing his father had trouble hearing it. He couldn't help but let out a disheartened sigh in response to Igneel's question before he began to explain.

"The parliament met together three days ago in order to discuss the issues that dragons are now facing; mainly the fallout from the civil war, an official stance on our future with humans, and what to do about Acnologia. We had been discussing, heh, or more accurately arguing about solutions to our problems," he began with a small smile filled with mirth, "when suddenly one of the emissaries, I don't even remember who, shouted 'I smell him! Acnologia! He is here!'"

Igneel kept his eyes focused on his father's face, silently monitoring the various expressions. Beginning the story with a look of sorrow for the fallen comrades, many of whom were close friends; before it turned to one of mirth at the recollection of what was probably the last of the parliament's numerous petty arguments that always seemed to occur at the meetings, before his expression finally shifted to dread, as if he could still hear that horrifying warning even now. "What happened next?" It was a rather plain question, but the only one that Igneel could think to ask, given his own state of shock at the horrible news.

With an exhausted sigh the old dragon continued his story. "Most of the younger members took flight immediately, leaving the mountain to engage Acnologia, surely with the intent to avenge every dragon that fell to that monster's claws. Myself, the Dark Dragon King and the Forest Dragon Queen were the only ones that remained behind; too old and weak to fight someone as powerful as the that black dragon." He sighed again before continuing to the story. "The parliament was weak. Of the one hundred clan heads that are supposed to be present at these meeting only thirteen showed, including myself. The war and Acnologia had affected us more than we even realized.

The three of us continued to watch as Acnologia fought against ten members of the parliament. Despite how much pain it brings me to say this, it was truly a glorious battle; one the likes of which I have never seen before. The destruction to the landscape, the techniques, the sheer power exhibited; truly amazing. And yet," the elderly dragon's voice suddenly became strained as his face twisted in pain and his claws dug into the earth "and yet, Acnologia slowly began to overwhelm the clan heads. The Lightning Dragon King was the first to fall, followed by the Earth Dragon King, and then the Poison Dragon Queen, and so on, and so on."

By this point Igneel's father had broken out in tears, his fist smashing the earth and creating mild shockwaves each time he recalled another of his comrades dying. Feeling true sympathy for his parent Igneel moved to sit shoulder to shoulder with his father in an attempt to provide some form of comfort. With a sigh he closed his eyes in a moment of silence for the fallen Kings and Queens, as Igneel had known many of them from his own time in the Parliament. He considered many of them to be friends and allies and hearing of their loss upset him just as much as his father.

"When it became clear that Acnologia was gonna win, Ravekor and Gaianna insisted that I leave and come find you. I had tried to argue against them, but in the end they were right and I knew it.

We knew that you and a few other dragons began raising children and teaching them Dragon Slayer Magic. Ravekor and Gaianna understood that with so much of the Parliament destroyed and the strongest of the dragons having their souls weakened by that bastard, a new group of dragon slayers is our best bet to stop that monster before he destroys the entire world."

"And since I went into hiding you were the only one that could find me, so they stayed to stall for time. Is that about right?" Igneel concluded.

His father could only nod grimly in response to the question. Igneel sighed in response to his father's story. The situation was bad, horrible actually, but there wasn't much he could do about it. "The children aren't ready, their nowhere near ready. Natsu is only five years old and three of the other children are only newborns."

"Acnologia fought the Parliament of Dragons, even a weakened one can put up a good fight. He may have won, but he didn't emerge unharmed. He'll need time to lick his wounds, especially with the Poison Dragon Queen landing several blows. Unfortunately once he recovers he'll go looking for other dragons, you especially; your one of the very few dragons left that can stand a chance against him."

"Yes, but I have to admit I'm hesitant to engage him. The spell he used to weakened the dragon souls was powerful; and although I hate to admit it, I fear what he could do to ones soul in a close up fight. What's more since Acnologia is injured he will most likely go into hiding. It will take time before he shows his face, and with my soul being weakened I'll become weaker as time passes." Igneel and his father sat in silence, contemplating the situation. It was only broken when the father remembered about something that Igneel had previously said.

"So his name is Natsu." It wasn't meant to be question, but a statement, and yet the father's quiet and almost inquisitive tone caused Igneel to respond like it was.

"Yes. Natsu Dragneel is his name. He is my son, which I suppose makes him your grandson." Igneel didn't sound too thrilled on the concept, unsurprising given their estranged relationship. But he also knew that given the situation that they we facing he couldn't let the past interfere.

"Would you...would you like to meet him?" Igneel asked cautiously. He knew, of course, of his father's opinion on humans, it was the reason that they had become estranged.

The question had surprised his father, who finally rose his head and looked directly at him. He was shocked that his son would make the offer given their past. He was so surprised that he had trouble forming a response. "I...ye-...n-...if..if it's ok with you."

The Fire Dragon King smiled at his father's not very subtle attempt at being civil. ' _At least he's trying'_.

"Yes! Let's go find that son of mine, we'll see what kind of trouble he's gotten himself into while we were busy talking." Igneel spoke jovially as he got up and began moving towards the cave. The somber mood seemingly forgotten, even if it was only temporary.

His father could only give a small smile in response to Igneel's little joke as he began to follow his through the tree line.

Natsu's face erupted into a gigantic smile as he saw his father and the other dragon emerge for the woods. "IGNEEL!" He shouted, pure joy emanating in his voice as began to run down the hill in front of the cave's opening towards his father.

Igneel chuckled at his son's enthusiasm and moved just a tad faster to meet him at the base of the hill. Lowering his head so that he was closer to the ground he waited at the bottom of the hill. Upon reaching the the bottom Natsu ran forward and attempted to tackle the massive dragon's snout.

"Igneel! Your ok! When you yelled at me and the other dragon showed up I thought there was gonna be trouble. Are you guys gonna fight? Is the other dragon strong? You can still win though, I know you can! But it'll still be really cool though!"

Igneel just smiled down at Natsu as the child continued to ramble, asking questions and making exclamations without taking a breath or giving either of the two dragons a chance to respond.

Chuckling slightly Igneel decided to stop his son before his questions completely ran out of control. "Natsu," Igneel began softly "I would like you to meet someone."

The dragon's statement caused the young boy calm down and look up at their visitor.

"Natsu this is my father, your grandfather, Ziggy." With Igneel's introduction Natsu continued to stare up at Ziggy in seeming awe. Ziggy himself seemed uncomfortable with the situation; shuffling his front paws and rolling his shoulders in small attempts to make himself comfortable. He was never one for interacting with humans, let alone human childern.

Silence enveloped the trio for a few moments as Igneel decjded to stay queit, Ziggy waswas clearly struggling for words, and Natsu seemed to just be in awe by the fact that he had a grandparent.

Suddenly the boy's face practically split in two from his smile as he jumped forward and attached himself to the elders front leg. So surprised by the child's boldness Ziggy

actually jumped slightly in surprise. He looked down at Natsu and smiled slightly as the child greeted him so naturally that it was almost like it wasn't their first meeting.

" Hiya Grandpa!"


	2. The Departure

For the first several weeks after Ziggy's arrival things had been awkward and the tension had been high. The elderly dragon spent most his time in the cave he had carved out on the opposite side of the mountain. He rarely left, ususally only going out to hunt and the few times that he would leave his shelter to join Igneel and Natsu he was often quiet and sat farther away from them than nessecary.

He wasn't distancing himself on purpose however, it was just that he didn't really know what to say or do. He and Igneel had been estranged for many years and just because the situation called them together again it didn't erase the arguements of the past.

When it came to Natsu, Ziggy was even more clueless. He had spent many years looking down on humans, thinking that they were inferior, and then when the war started he began to outright hate the hairless little monkeys that contributed to the deaths of many dragons. And yet now here he was relying on one that called him Grandpa. In the end, he had no idea how to reconcile with Igneel and no idea how to interact with Natsu.

Igneel was facing a similar dilemma. Conversing with his father proved difficult;

the elderly dragon spent most of his time in his cave and any attempted conversations usually focused around Acnologia and most of those ended in arguments as Ziggy often proposed plans that Igneel considered to be to reckless and dangerous.

His relationship with Natsu had also been strained during those first few weeks. The Fire Dragon King didn't want to admit it but he had been shaken by the news of the Parliament's demise and as a result he had unconsciously been harsher with Natsu. His training sessions became more frequent, longer, and more strenuous. He also started refusing to allow Natsu to travel the woods and explore, keeping the boy close to the cave. Natsu, who didn't know of Acnologia or of his father's worries became increasingly frustrated and often complained, which caused Igneel to yell at him, this led to many arguements between the father and son.

Natsu's ignorance of the current situation and of the past between his father and grandfather had made it difficult for him to fully understand what was going on. From his perspective Ziggy was avoiding him and Igneel had been overbearing and unnecessarily strict. Without knowing the cause of the tension that hung in the air Natsu couldn't figure out how fix it.l, frustrating the young boy even further.

Almost a month and half after Ziggy's arrival Igneel was forced into a tough situation. The four other dragons that were raising childern, as well as a few humans that were involved in dragon politics, had called a meeting to discuss a plan of action. Unfortunately for the Fire Dragon King he couldn't bring Natsu with him and his father's emotional state in regards to Acnologia was, despite being understandable, a risk during an important meeting.

While he didn't want to leave two alone with each other, he also knew that he didn't really have many options. Bringing either one along with him wasn't an option; neither was asking his father to leave the mountain until the meeting was over. With a heavy heart he resigned himself to the accept the fact that leaving Ziggy and Natsu alone, with each other, was the only option.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Your sure you can handle this?" Questioned the Fire Dragon King to his father as the two walked toward the cave that Igneel and Natsu called home.

Ziggy let out an annoyed grunt in response, annoyed that his son didn't think him capable of watching a child. "I can handle it just fine. All I have to do is make sure the child doesn't kill himself doing something stupid."

The old dragon's response didn't comfort Igneel much. "Yes that's a part of it, but you also need to make sure that he doesn't wander off, that he has food, that he drinks enough water, that he..." Igneel's rant was interrupted by Ziggy before it could go any farther.

"Alright, alright I understand. I know that dragon fathers don't raise their young but I understand the concept." Ziggy's irritation laced through his voice.

Igneel sighed before looking at his father seriously "Are you sure you can handle this?" The seriousness of his tone implying the unspoken question of whether or not the old dragon could even stand being around a human for an extended period of time.

Ziggy looked down to the ground for a few seconds pondering if he could actually do what he was about to, before raising his head and looking Igneel straight into his golden eyes with a face of sheer determination. "I can do this, my son." The confidence that Ziggy spoke with resonated with his son and instilled him with hope, not just for the next couple of days, but for the future as well.

A content smile rose on Igneel's face. "Good."

"Hey Igneel!" Natsu's high pitched voice interrupted any further conversation that the two dragons were going to have. Natsu ran out the cave with a giant smile on his face and latches onto his father's leg. "Igneel! When are you leaving for your meeting?"

Igneel smirked down at his son, "heh, as soon as an annoying little twrep lets go my leg."

"What'd you say you dumb gecko?!" Natsu didn't give Igneel much chance to retort as he jumped back and lunged at Igneel with his fist coated in flames "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

The young dragon slayer's fist connected with the Fire Dragon King's ankle and caused a small explosion upon impact. The spell, while extremely impressive for such a young boy, was nothing to a dragon that could break mountains with his fists and Igneel didn't even flinch at the attack on him. That being said Igneel was a King, and Kings demand respect and disrespect demands punishment. So even though the attack did nothing Igneel still immediately flicked Natsu his finger into a boulder, spreading cracks all along the rock's surface.

Ziggy watched the interaction with mild amusement and Igneel silently chuckled at his son's misfortune (he took extra joy when the cocky little punk started moaning pitifully). After a minute of sadistic enjoyment Igneel straightened up and barked at his son. "Now your just wasting time Natsu! Get up!"

Grumbling in pain and anger Natsu managed to find his way to his feet and glared at his father; the expression was ruined however by the large bump on his head and the tears in his eyes, but Natsu figured he still got his point across. "Natsu," his father began, "I'm not sure when I'll return, but it shouldn't be more than a week or two. Please behave yourself for your grandfather."

The serious tone in his father's voice took all the anger out of his body and made him realize that Igneel was actually leaving. He had known that his father was leaving for several days now, they had talked about it extensively as Igneel had wanted him to understand that his departure was both temporary and necessary and that he would return. But those had just been talks, now it was reality and Natsu was a little worried. He had never been apart from Igneel for more than a couple hours, a day at most. The Fire Dragon King was the only family that he knew for most of his life and the thought that he would be leaving was admittedly terrifying to him.

The tears that was once of anger quickly turned to tears of distress as he once again latched himself onto his father's ankle. "Igneel! Your coming back right?! Ya promise?!" The young boy started crying and sniffling and rubbing his face on Igneel's scales.

Igneel smiled lovingly and moved the hand that didn't have a balling child on it to gently rub his son's head. " Yes Natsu I'll return in just a few days. I know that this is the longest that we've ever been apart, but your my son Natsu and I love you. Nothing will stop me from returning, now stand tall Natsu. Your the son of the Fire Dragon King, your strong and something like a like a seperation won't phase you, will it?"

Natsu took a deep, shaky breath and the released Igneel from his grasp. Rubbing his eyes and sniffling little, Natsu then regained his composure and looked up at his father. His mouth was a straight line, his jaw clenched and his back straight, both hands curled at his side. Natsu tried his best to look confident but his watery, tearfilled eyes betrayed him.

"I'll see you when you get back dad." He tried to sound confident, but his voice was shaky and trembling. Igneel looked at his son with pride, while Natsu's bravado was unconvincing his attempt was what was important.

"Then be good for your grandfather and continue your training. I'll see you when I return Natsu." Igneel spread his massive wings and prepared to take off, but not before looking at his father "Take care of him father, and try to have some fun." Getting a small smile and a nod from Ziggy the Fire King took flight and began soaring off over the horizon.

* * *


	3. The Brother

It had taken him more than a day of non stop travel to reach Mt. Hide-Away; the reclusive mountain where the meeting was to take place. By the time he landed on the barren and rocky land his wings ached and his legs almost gave out on him from lack of use. Most dragons, like many large birds, use thermal winds to fly and then supplement magic to help support their massive wingspans. Because of their use of thermals, Fire dragons are especially adept at the art of flight since they could manipulate heat to create thermal winds regardless of the direction or altitude they were flying; but dragon wings weren't meant to be used for 24-plus hours at a time, so even the King of Fire Dragons felt the slight ache in his wing's muscles.

His snout crinkled on relflex when he landed. The smell he had been detecting for the last several miles was at its strongest now that he wasn't moving at a speed that pushed the scent past his nostrils so fast that he could ignore it. Now, however, he was still as he stood in the clearing at the base of the mountain and the scent permeated most of the area (it was clear to him that the owner had been there for several days already) as well as his nose. The smell of paper and ink, glass and chemicals, and hidden underneath it all was just a hint of death; it all brought so many memories, so many conflicting emotions, just the scent alone had made him uncomfortable.

The Dragon King had decided to ignore the scent for as long as possible, secretly hoping that another of the meetings attendees would arrive. He began stretching his wings to ease his ache of the muscle first, folding them in and out and then rolling them forward to excercise the motions they didn't really get to do while flying. After the ache in his wings began to numb he started working on his legs which had begun to atrophy from his long flight. It felt good to roll his paws and stretch his legs.

It was as his neck popped that Igneel heard the crunching of pebbles as someone approached. Looking up at the small cliff that adorned the side of the of clearing he saw a young male human emerge from a cervice. He stared at the black haired man, who stared back at him with what could only be described as an odd mixture of happiness and remorse. Igneel almost wanted to look away from the man's blood red eyes; he was not afriad of the human, but he had never felt so conflicted about another living being before. His claws curled as he grew anstey and his gut twisted in knots at how uncomfortable he was; as it turned out the sight of his new company unnerved him more than the smell did. And yet despite all this some part of him was happy to see the man that he once considered to be one of his closest friends. Despite his conflicting emotions Igneel managed to maintain composure for in the end Igneel was a King and if a king knew how do one thing it was how to keep calm when nessecary.

Despite Igneel's stoicism the human still seemed to pick up on the Dragon King's unease. His face lost most of what little happiness was present when the dragon moved to sit up straight and with the air of dignity that only a king could possess. It was a far cry from the laid back and casual demeanor that Igneel used to possess when they were together and he could only give a morose smile at the action. The human let a sad sigh before he began speaking, "Great Igneel, it is good to see you once again. I'm glad you were able to make it to this meeting, your input will surely be invaluable."

"It is good to see you as well, Zeref Dragneel." It was short and clearly hard for Igneel to say but it was also the only thing that he could say the human. The awkward staring contest between the two was only made more awkward as the cliff that Zeref stood on made him almost eye level with the Dragon King, it was not often Igneel had to look directly in the eye of a human. After a few moments of silence Igneel spoke, if only to break up the uncomfortable silence, "Do you know when the others will arrive?"

Zeref's already slightly drooping eyelids fell even lower in sadness at the dragon's poorly hidden desire to avoid being alone with him. "They should arrive shortly. Today is the scheduled arrival date, and aside from Metallicana most of the others are fairly punctual." Zeref's lips rose slightly into a small smirk, "I admit however that I am surprised you were the first to arrive, punctuality is not something your known for, and I can only imagine that Natsu didn't make it any easier to leave."

The Dragon King raised his head high in defiance at the human's jab. "Hmph, Don't be ridiculous. I, the Great Igneel, am never late, if I am the last to arrive then it is only because everyone else had to decided to arrive early."

"Well your almost always the last to arrive so showing early must be a group characteristic."

Igneel's facade almost broke as a tick mark appeared on his forehead at the humans snark. "Don't be foolish," he snapped, "they're just showing proper respect! Everyone knows it's rude to keep a king waiting! They show up proposely early so that they don't waste my invaluable time." He stated with finality and (clealry false) bravado.

Zeref chuckled slightly, knowing fully well that the dragon would never admit that he was somewhat flawed at punctuality. The two settled back into silence, Zeref a little happier now that Igneel actually showed some emotion to him and Igneel a little irritated at Zeref's insinuation (although he was more comfortable being near the human than he was before, even if it was only a little).

The silence the two settled in wasn't exactly comfortable, but then tension wasn't physically unbearable like it was before. Igneel had begun to stare out over the rocky terrain that made out Mt. Hide-Away. The forest off in the distance caught his attention and reminded him of home, although his gaze would drift every now and then resulting in subtle glances towards Zeref. He was unable to tell what Zeref was thinking as the red eyed man stared up at the blue sky. As much as he didn't want to, being alone with this human in silence caused Igneel to recall the past, no their past as well as Natsu's.

* * *

Zeref Dragneel was one of Igneel's oldest living human friends as well as Natsu's biological brother. The two had met one day approximately 15years ago, back before the Dragon Civil War had even begun, and had been close friends.

One day Igneel had landed near a small village to rest after a long journey and the teenage raven haired boy had stumbled upon the clearing he was sleeping in by chance. The red eyed human had been fascinated by Igneel, having only seen dragons from afar before. Later Zeref would admit that he was nervous, but wasn't afraid of the dragon as he reasoned that if the dragon had intended harm he would have just attacked. The two had struck up a conservation, which quickly developed into a friendship.

Igneel, having lived for many years and having traveled far and wide, told Zeref stories of the world at large; tales of heroes and gods and great warriors. Igneel loved humans, he always had; their courage and imagination had endeared him to the smaller beings and as such he had conversed with many and heard many tales that stuck with him. Zeref loved hearing all of Igneel's stories, regardless of whether they were historical or fictional, the young mage always paid attention and asked questions. Having come from such a small village and a not particularly wealthy household Zeref had never really traveled, so to hear of the grander world caused the youth to be amazed.

Zeref, meanwhile, had begun to teach Igneel of magic theory and advancement in human technologies. He had always paid rapt attention to Zeref's lectures as they always fascinated him. Dragons never really expanded or studied magic like humans did and they never developed any technology; why would they bother, even the weakest dragon could fight off a wyvern, so studying how magic worked, how to improve it or building machines didn't really make sense to dragons. But humans were different; they weren't massive creatures, they didn't have armor hard scales or massive reserves of magic. Learning new skills and building tools was what allowed them to survive in a harsh world and eventually they began to thrive. Humans were never satisfied, they aspired to be better than they were, to reach for the stars and to see into the unknown. To many those qualities were what the problem was with humans, but they were what Igneel loved most about humans, so much so that he tried to be more like them in that regard, motivating him to travel the world and explore and learn new things.

His actions had made him somewhat of an outcast amongst other dragons, as dragons tended not to be nomadic. Most dragons weren't social, they claimed territories that they protected with their lives, gorging on local wildlife and then sleeping for several years at a time. The only time dragons really came together were for mating or settling desputes.

Igneel believed however that his nomadic tendencies were what led to him becoming the King of Fire Dragons, for in his travels Igneel encountered many beings that he fought against. Humans, dragons, demons, and even the occasional god. Igneel had fought them all, sometimes losing, sometimes winning, but always gaining strength and experience.

While no dragon was weak there was a fair range in skill and strength that depended on the individual, with the weakest of dragons being about the same strength of a wyvern and the most powerful being as strong as a primal god, but the latter was much rarer than the former . Igneel was by far one of the most powerful dragons of the age; he was respected for his strength by all dragons of Ishgar, not just those of the Fire clan. Many had even claimed that he could be Ishgar' Absolute Dragon King, the king that ruled above all the dragons of Ishgar, even the King's of the clans.

What held him back from taking the position was his hatred of dragon politics. Fighting between clans was common and needed settling often so that entire wars weren't waged. What didn't help was that dragon clans didn't fight for territory like humans did; those issues could be resolved relatively easily. No, dragon clans fought over pride, and issues of pride could never really be settled. And so in the end Igneel took his position as King of the Fire Clan and no further. He likes to think that he was a pretty good king; in-fighting and disputes with other clans were an all time low while he was in charge, but his fondness for humans had caused some arguements between him and others, eventually causing him to leave the Parliament and letting his father take over the political aspects, any nessecary communication between the two was done through a proxy.

Unfortunately for both Igneel and Zeref, the dragon king had to move on after a few days of hanging around, but he had promised to return to meet his newest friend again. And he kept his promise, for about 5 weeks later Igneel returned to Zeref's village to meet his friend. He and Zeref repeated this several times over the course of a year; Igneel showing every few weeks and hanging out with Zeref for a few days before leaving.

Throughout the year Igneel had become more and more welcomed not just by Zeref but also by his fellow villagers. The presence of the dragon king had been unnerving to many at first, but quickly his very being brought relief to the people. Tensions between humans and dragons had been very tense in recent years and incidents between the two races seemed to be happening more and more. Every year there seemed to be reports of some villagers burning dragons land or even foolishly attacking them and some violent dragons that attacked and destroyed human settlements. As such the repeated visits of a dragon such as Igneel became comforting for the townspeople, after all no other dragon would dare attack a village that the Fire Dragon King considered as part of his territory.

After the first year of Zeref and Igneel's friendship, Zeref had decided to introduce Igneel to his little brother, Natsu Dragneel. The young boy had been completely amazed by the dragon and the dragon became endeared to the boys joyful and energetic personality quite quickly. After their initial meeting Natsu had basically insisted on going with Zeref everytime he went to meet Igneel, which didn't bother either one as Zeref loved to see his brother happy and Igneel ended up enjoying Natsu's company as much as he did Zerefs.

It was during this time when the three had met often that Zeref's genius had been recognized by his fellow humans and had been given an opportunity to attend the country's most prestigious magic school. While Zeref's parents and even Natsu and Igneel had encouraged the young mage to take the opportunity he had been very hesitant to enroll. Zeref, whose genius and introverted personality often ostracized him from other young people of the village, spent most of his time alone; at least until Natsu was born.

Once his younger brother was born Zeref had spent most of his time helping in the care and welfare of Natsu. The black haired mage had become extremely close to his brother, so much so that Zeref could easily say that Natsu was the most important person in his life. Natsu as he grew older had also become extremely close to his older brother as there really wasn't any other children for him to be friends with. As a result the two brothers had become incredibly close even despite the age gap between them.

When the academy's invitation had arrived Zeref was hesitant to accept because it would mean leaving Natsu all alone. Natsu was a very sociable boy, but the lack of childern to become friends with and two parents that both worked jobs during the day meant that without his brother Natsu would truly be alone most of the time; and the thought of Natsu being all alone distressed Zeref greatly. Natsu, despite his age, also understood that if Zeref left then he would be alone, because even though his parents loved him very much and did as much as they could for him, he also understood that they had to work and that limited the time they could spend with him. But even so, when the invitation arrived Natsu had encouraged his brother to accept, because he knew that Zeref would enjoy studying at the Academy and that it was better for his brother in the long run. Between Natsu and Igneel both actively encourageing him to accept the invitation Zeref agreed to head to the capital to see the academy first hand.

Unfortunately Zeref's visit to the academy would be a long one. The journey to and from the capital took almost a month each way and he would be staying in the dormitories for a few weeks in order to fully experience the campus. This would leave Natsu alone and without his brother for almost 3months. During this time Igneel had promised to visit the 4year old when he could so that he wouldn't be lonely, but Igneel would be incapable of staying around for the entire 3months.

Three days before Zeref left for the captial Igneel was saying goodbye to the brothers. He had wished Zeref luck at the academy and promised Natsu that he would return in just a few weeks to keep him company. Natsu, despite his young age, put on a brave face for both Zeref (who Natsu wouldn't see for three months) and Igneel (who he wouldn't see for five weeks), proclaiming that he 'would be just fine without either of them, that he would be better than alright!' With a bravado only a 4year old could claim Natsu promised Zeref and Igneel that: "When you'se come back Onii-chan I'll be an even betterer reader than you! And I'll be stronger than you Igneel!"

Natsu's promise had made Zeref laugh with brothely love, and Zeref told the boy that he believed he could accomplish anything if he wanted to. Igneel hadn't been as supportive and his laugh hadn't been as kind, telling the boy, "If I came back 1000years from now the only thing you'd be better at than me is whining." The dragon's joke hadn't been well received by Natsu, who called Igneel a stupid head is response. Zeref had decided to step in at that point to end the insueing argument before it even began as he didn't want the trio's final meeting for a while to end with an argument. With that Igneel said goodbye to the Dragneel brothers, wishing Zeref a final bit of luck, and promising to see Natsu in a few weeks. Three days later Zeref would leave to begin his long journey to the capital after a tearful goodbye with his brother.

* * *

Even now Igneel looks back at that goodbye with nostalgia, it was the last time the three of them were truly together after all. Igneel had kept his promise to visit Natsu while Zeref was away and two had a joyous time even without the elder brother being present, although his absence was felt by both. A smile is still brought to Igneel's face as he remembers how Natsu reacted to seeing Igneel after those five weeks; the boy was bawling his eyes out and practically rubbing snot all of Igneel's scales, to this day the dragon has no idea what the boy even said it was so mumbled.

On the last day of his visit Natsu had a hard time saying goodbye, even harder than the last time he left. Apparently the loneliness was harder on Natsu than any of them had expected and the boy was not looking forward to another month without friends. Natsu had latched onto Igneel's foot and refused to let go for hours; it wasn't until Natsu's mother had showed up looking for him for dinner and had spoken to him that he had reluctantly let go. His mother, Aki he remembered was her name, was kind and gentle and had offered Igneel several apologies on Natsu's behalf, but Igneel would hear nothing of apologies, he understood that it was hard on Natsu and said that he wished he didn't have to go either.

Igneel, having begun to miss his friends as he journeys, had made a promise to Natsu at that moment. He promised Natsu that after this last trip, which he had to make for a Parliment meeting as his father's wasn't able to intend instead, he would begin to make more frequent trips and to stay longer. He still fondly remembered what Natsu did once he finally stopped crying. The pink haired boy had reached arm up as high as it would go, with his fingers clenched towards his palm, except for his pinky finger, which stuck out from the fist. Still sniffling and with eyes watering Natsu found his voice "You pinky promise you'll do all that stuff?"

Igneel had no idea what the boy was doing, but his mother had explained (while giggling like a mad woman) that it was a 'super serious promise'. Igneel in response had extended one of his own digits and, while he couldn't wrap it around Natsu's, he touched the end of his claw to Natsu's extended finger. Aki had bursted out laughing and Igneel couldn't find it in himself to be upset, he was sure they looked pretty ridiculous; a tiny pinked haired human making a pinky promise with a giant red dragon.

* * *

What Igneel found when he arrived a few weeks later was something that he couldn't have been prepared for. It was something he had seen before, too many times for his liking, and he had never gotten used to it.

The sight of smoke and flames covering houses, ash filling the sky, the sound of clacking wood and stone as homes collapsed, and worst of all, the smell of burning and rotting flesh.

The village was completely destroyed, the corpses of townspeople littered the streets. Igneel, for what was actually the first time, wandered through the streets of the town, careful to not step on any of the bodies. His massive frame had accidentally knocked down a few of the now ruined buildings, but he didn't see a point of dwelling on it, it looked as though there wouldn't be any one to occupy them anyway. It took a few minutes before he overcame the shock of the situation and sprinted toward where he knew the Dragneel home was, praying that Natsu would be ok, that he was fine, that he was playing in the woods, that Zeref had not yet returned from the capital.

His prayers would go unanswered. The small home located towards the edge of the village that Zeref and Natsu had pointed out during one of their flights was burning, the roof had caved in, and he could detect the smell of burning flesh emanating from inside. He could only stare at the sight before him as his body refused to move; his fangs grinding against one another as his jaw clenched tighter than ever before and tears pooled in his eyes. His heart felt like it had been torn half at the sight.

Igneel was 800years old, only halfway through his life as dragon and yet an inconceivable age for any human. He had lost friends before, of course he had, one didn't live that long without doing so. Mortal friends that passed on naturally, friends that succumbed to disease, and several that had fallen in battle, but this was different. Those friends before had lived their lives, they were adults and warriors, they had experienced the world; Natsu had not. He was a child, not even 5years old. He hadn't even experienced anything yet, and now he never could.

The clatter of wood falling on the ground broke him out of his shock. He heard the sound that filled him with hope before he saw what caused it. The faint sound of footsteps that his enhanced hearing picked out amongst the collapsing structures filled his ears and drowned out all other sound. He had enough wit about himself to know not to try to help as any attempt from his massive body would only cause the flimsy structure to completely collapse. So he was forced to wait, his eyes fixed on the door to the home and his breath caught in his throat to see who would emerge; the smell of the village and its people burning had prevented even him from picking up the scent of the occupant.

And then suddenly a figure emerged from the smoke and Igneel's heart dropped, for out stepped Zeref, covered in soot and an expression on his face that simultaneously displayed no emotion and yet expressed nothing but heart break. While Igneel was happy to see his friend, he was horrified by what was being carried in the elder Dragneel brothers arms. The form still and breathless, the parts of the epidermis not covered in burns were layered in soot, the edges of the sakura hair was burnt.

Igneel could do nothing but let loose a roar of anguish and pain in mourning of Natsu Dragneel.

* * *

Even to this day the thought brings tears to his eyes. Natsu's death shook him more than any other before, so much so that he had gone directly to the Parliament and argued for them to begin to end the tensions between dragons and humans. He pleaded for an end to hostilities, making the argument that it would benefit dragons as much as it did humans, but almost half of the Parliament disliked humans or out right hated them. They laughed at him; questioned why the loss of village mattered at all. The part of the Parliament that were fond of humans and believed in coexistence were sympathetic to his pleas but were unsure of what actions could be taken, and even if they knew what to do they lacked a majority vote. The few members that had yet to develop a strong opinion on humans had mixed opinions, some being sympathetic and some not understanding the fuss. In the end the Parliament argued about the issue for less than a day before moving on to a new topic.

Furious about how cavalier the Parliament was about the issue Igneel had raged and challenged others to a fight for their vote. The Parliament was not happy about Igneel's actions and his outburst and had decided to punish him. Since many of the Parliament respected him and were sympathetic to him they grant him a slap on the wrist and exiled him for 20years. Enraged by the Parliament Igneel had left and reclused himself in the mountains. He had decided to abandon the Parliament and all the unless politics and left the seat to his father. He stayed in the mountains and lived out his exile. For the most part he was left alone by other dragons, with the exceptions of a few friends that visited him time to time that informed him of any current events.

It was about 4years after Natsu's death that he was visited by someone that he wasn't sure he would ever see again. Zeref had appeared in his territory one summer day. It had been a surprise for Igneel to see the sole survivor of the Dragneel family; the two had a falling out right before Igneel secluded himself. Igneel had visited his friend who in the wake of his village's destruction, decided to attend the Magical Academy, to let him know of what had happened with the Parliament and his exile, only to find that Zeref had kept Natsu's body and persevered it with the intention of reviving his younger brother. The two had argued for hours on end about possibility and risks and morality of doing such a thing, but Zeref had refused to listen to Igneel's warnings and had dismissed the dragon in his rage and told him not to return. So for Zeref to appear had surprised him. What had surprised him even more was Zeref's request. The young mage had asked that the Dragon King kill him.

Listening to his tale Igneel could only be horrified by the events of his friend's past several years. Apparently Zeref had continued his research into resurrection at the Magical Academy for a little more than a year, when one day he was confronted by a god of life and death, Ankhseram. For his actions Ankhseram cursed Zeref to immortality and solitude. After the encounter Zeref had understandably panicked, accidentally activating the curse; which was so effective that the entire academy perished from it.

In the aftermath of the incedent Zeref transferred Natsu's body to a secure location before spending 2years trying to break the curse. Unfortunately his curse activated whenever his emotions became too strong. And the death magic that affected him caused many to perish as a result. Many had attempted to kill for the accidental killings, but they had all failed, for his body would just heal from any damage, and then in the panic and rage and shock of someone attempting to kill him his curse would then activate and many would die.

Guilt has eaten away at the elder Dragneel at the many innocent people who died as a result of his curse. Realizing that the curse would prevent him from being with Natsu even if he could revive him Zeref had become depressed and attempted to commit suicide. For an entire year the mage had tried die, he impaled himself on all sorts of weapons in all sorts of places in his body, he jumped from cliffs, drowned himself, suffocated himself, he even tried to kill himself in flames like how his family perished; but nothing worked.

After finally concluding that nothing could kill him Zeref had secluded himself into a deep forest and avoided contact with humans so that he wouldn't have any more deaths on his conscience. And that was why Zeref had come to him all those years ago. Igneel was powerful, powerful enough that maybe his flames could overwhelm the God's curse on him. The fire dragon was his last best chance to free himself from his suffering. But Igneel had refused the request, he couldn't do it, he couldn't kill his friend. But eventually Igneel conceded to Zeref's various requests and attempted to end his friends suffering. It had been hard for him to do (he had never turned his flames upon a human before, especially a friend) and Zeref's screams of agony still echoed in his mind. But Zeref had suffered greatly and without having a way to break a powerful god's curse he only suffer more, so Igneel bore throught the heartache and watched knowing the at least he released his friend from a horrible existence. He had failed.

Igneel's flames were powerful and Zeref had remained a pile of ashes for several days (the longest that he had ever been 'dead'), but Ankhseram was a powerful god and his curse was strong for the sin that Zeref had performed was heinous. After several days Zeref had awoken in another part of the forest, alive and well, Igneel had never been so relieved and yet distressed. The two would part shortly after and not meet again for almost 10years, during which time the Dragon civil war would take place and Zeref would create his Etherious demons, becoming the most hated man in all of Ishgar.

And then just a few months ago Zeref came to him, after almost 10years of no communication, and whats more he brought Natsu with him, unconscious but definitely alive. It was the same little boy that he had known more than a decade ago, from his pink hair to his tan skin to his smell. He had cried that day at seeing the boy.

Natsu, who was kept unconscious by Zeref's sleep magic, was ignorant of the conversation between the dragon and human about how the boy was revived and the subsequent argument about the morality of doing so. In the end Zeref had asked Igneel to raise the boy and teach him magic, fully confident that where Igneel and many others had failed Natsu would succeed.

Even now, as Igneel sat next to Zeref, he couldn't help but feel grateful to the dark mage. The last several months with Natsu had been some of the most joyous of his life. Even though Natsu had no memories of anything before he awoke in the forest with Igneel (Zeref had erased the memories of his past so that he wouldn't have to feel the pain and heartache of knowing that not only had his parents died, but he did as well) Natsu was still the exact same boy that Igneel had become so endeared to.

In the distance Igneel could see figure emerge from the clouds. The white feathers that adorned their body only confirmed what his nose had told him. Grandeeny's arrival would only be the first, as Zeref had stated earlier the other dragons were fairly punctual.

"It looks like we'll begin shortly." Igneel had actually jumped slightly at Zeref's comment, the two sitting in silence for almost an hour.

"Yes, soon we'll hear about this plan of yours."

Igneel was grateful as Grandeeny approached the clearing. His complicated history with Zeref had made him very uncomfortable when alone with his old friend. He had been friends with this man, he had seen this man lose everything and then desend into dark arts to get it back, anger a god and become the most infamous dark mage on the continent, he had killed this man and is now raising his brother as his own son. His feelings towards Zeref was about as complicated as their history and he didn't know what to feel.

He did know however that he couldn't wait for this meeting to get started. The sooned it started the sooner he could return to Natsu and Ziggy.


End file.
